Protect Your Investment With Quality Termite Exterminator Services
We strive to be minimally invasive while completely inspecting your home to provide a customized comprehensive strategy to rid your home of destructive termites.
Through identification and treatment, we can remove and prevent termites from returning and damaging your home even more.
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SE Portland Termite Extermination
We commonly deal with a couple of different kinds of termites in our work as termite exterminators. Treatment methods for both varieties are similar to what we do for ants and other insects: a combination of sprays and baits to manage termite populations.
It’s important to understand which species has made itself at home in your space before beginning a termite control plan. Here’s some information on termites we typically see.
Dampwood Termites
Can you guess where you’ll typically find this type of termite? As the name suggests, they love moisture. Click below for more information.
Colony SizeTermites are social insects which live in large colonies, though the dampwood termite has a smaller colony size when compared with other termite species. There are three castes in their society: reproductives, workers, and soldiers.
| Characteristic | Description |
|---|---|
| Color | Brown |
| Length | Lengths up to 3/4 inch |
| Appearance | Termite antennae have bead-like segments. The winged reproductives (swarmers) have a pair of long wings (equal in size) attached to the last two thoracic segments. The wings are broken off after swarming. The abdomen is broadly joined at the thorax unlike the narrow abdominal attachment found on ants. |
| Breeding | The founding male and female create a sealed chamber in infested wood and within two weeks produce approximately 12 eggs. A second batch of eggs is laid the following spring. |
| Where they live | These termites infest almost any kind of wood and tolerate very high levels of moisture. They often are found in dock and wharf pilings, logs, stumps, and dead trees – though water-damaged wood in a house or other structure may attract their presence. |
| Food Source | Unlike carpenter ants, termites do eat wood. |
| Behavior Notes | The western species swarm in summer through fall. Most species swarm in the evening and are attracted to light. |
| Signs of presence | Beyond tunnels dug in the ground and in wet wood, fecal pellets are oval with flat sides, about 1/32 inch long and the color of the infested wood. |
| Risks | Termites can cause damage to wood. They do not carry any diseases which affect humans, and are not harmful from a medical standpoint unless there is an allergy concern. |
Although the difference in appearance is apparent to experienced exterminators, termites are often confused with carpenter ants. Contact OIRC today for an expert evaluation!
Subterranean Termites
This type of termite can have different physical features depending on it’s role within the colony. Click below for more things you should know about this type of termite.
Colony SizeAn average colony consists of 60,000 to 250,000 individuals but colonies numbering in the millions are possible.
| Characteristic | Description |
|---|---|
| Color | Cream-colored to black |
| Length | Lengths up to 1 inch |
| Appearance | Depends on their position within the colony, though in general they possess large heads and long abdomens. |
| Breeding | A mature queen produces 5,000 to 10,000 eggs per year. |
| Where they live | Subterranean termite colonies are usually located in the soil from which the workers build mud tubes to structural wood where they then feed. |
| Food Source | Termites digest cellulose in wood with the aid of special bacteria within their digestive system. The workers prefer to feed on fungus-infected wood but readily feed on undamaged wood as well. |
| Behavior Notes | Subterranean termite colonies are established by winged reproductives which usually appear in the spring. Swarms usually occur in the morning after a warm rain. A male and female that have swarmed from an established colony lose their wings and seek a dark cavity inside which they mate and raise the first group of workers. Both of these reproductives feed on wood, tend the eggs, and build the initial nest. |
| Signs of presence | Beyond tunnels dug in the ground and in wet wood, fecal pellets are oval with flat sides, about 1/32 inch long, and the color of the infested wood. |
| Risks | Termites can cause damage to wood. They do not carry any diseases which affect humans, and are not harmful from a medical standpoint unless there is an allergy concern. |
Although termites are not carriers of any diseases that can cause harm to humans, it’s important to take care of any termite populations before they cause structural damage to your home or business.
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